VOTARY London was easily one of my favorite brand discoveries this year. I wrote Part 1 which you can check out HERE. I was so impressed I made a second haul so this is Part 2 (Spoiler alert there will be a Part 3). I did cleansing oils and facial oils in my first haul. This one was more geared towards those other types of products I wanted to try. I grabbed a five pack of the Cotton Face Cloths. The fact that these are Caroline Hirons favorite flannels pushed me over the edge. These are easily my favorite now as well. It was instant love. They're durable, well made, high quality, large enough for your whole face, soft enough to not be harsh yet have enough texture to really remove all that dirt and grime from the day. I reviewed them HERE and my thoughts are still the same. Easily my favorite flannel and I would highly recommend a box if you like cleansing with oils and a cloth.
The Hydrating Body Oil was a last minute toss into my cart. I loved the facial oils so much I figured the body one would be fantastic as well. Details per Votary:
A luxuriously fragranced body oil to hydrate and comfort skin.When limbs are dry or dull, Votary Hydrating Body Oil revitalises, refines and smooths to leave skin deeply hydrated. Plum and black cumin oil moisturise. Peach kernel oil adds velvety softness. Camellia comforts and restores. Rosehip and sea buckthorn oils impart a lustrous glow, while bergamot and mandarin bring smoothness and an uplifting, zesty fragrance.
The Ritual Apply after bathing or showering, while your skin is slightly damp, to seal in moisture. Gently massage into your skin, and enjoy gleaming, smooth, fragrant limbs. Combine with Body Treatment Oil for troublesome patches on elbows, knees and heels for a blissful, all-over softness.
This is scented like Bergamot & Mandarin with a light uplifting citrus scent. I love the stout glass pump bottle. More hydrating oils like peach and plum are combined with lighter oils like grapseed, sea buckthorn, rosehip & camellia for a hydrating and nourishing yet light and not greasy body oil. Black cumin is great at decongesting which rounds this body oil out. These are all antioxidant rich oils. I'm not hugely into body oils anymore so I haven't used this a ton but I do like it when I reach for a body oil.
Ingredients
prunus persica (peach) kernel oil, camellia oleifera (camellia) seed oil, rosa canina (rosehip) fruit oil, vitisvinifera (grape) seed Oil, prunus domestica (plum) seed oil, nigella sativa (black cumin) seed oil, citrusaurantium bergamia (bergamot) fruit oil, citrus nobilis (mandarin) peel oil, citrus aurantium amara (petitgrain)leaf oil, hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) fruit oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, tocopherol, limonene+, linalool+, geraniol++ naturally occurs in essential oil
The Toning Serum is Votary's only serum product. As I'm addicted to serums it was a must try for me. Details per Votary:
A light, refreshing serum to plump, renew and refresh skin. A brilliant tonic after a busy day, and a key part of the Votary three step routine. Votary Toning Serum is a refreshingly light toner and serum all-in-one. This delicate blend of lemon extract, glycolic and hyaluronic acid plumps and renews skin. Natural lemon extract and glycolic acid combine to smooth skin texture, minimise pores and fine lines, and even out tone. Hyaluronic acid helps your skin to retain moisture effortlessly, for intensely powerful hydration and a plumped-up glow. Gentle Neroli flower water refreshes and soothes.
The Ritual After you’ve cleansed, put 4 to 5 drops of Toning Serum onto the palm of your hand. Place your other hand on top and spread the serum over your palms and fingers. Then gently smooth the serum onto your cheeks, chin, nose and forehead. Take care to avoid the delicate area around your eyes. Follow this with a VOTARY Facial Oil.
I love Votary's luxury green glass bottles. This serum has a slippery, hydrating, watery like texture. It's just a touch thicker than water. This smells lightly like neroli and citrus. It's not heavily scented at all. The scent comes from the neroli flower and the lemon fruit waters. This serum is pretty simple with vitamin C (derivative for brightening and collagen building, less irritating than non-derivatives), sodium hyaluronate (hydration), neroli flower water (antioxidant, soothing, antibacterial, astringent, anti-inflammatory, purifying), lemon fruit water (contains natural AHAs for brightening, exfoliating, smooths skin texture), glycerin (hydrating) & glycolic acid (gold standard for exfoliating skin, brightening, smooths skin texture).
The glycolic acid is only 1% which is pretty low. A lot of toners are %5 at minimum. However, you have the lemon fruit water which has natural alpha hydroxy acids as well. I liked that this is actually a lower acid percentage than normal. Sometimes we always go for the fastest and strongest acid thinking only about exfoliation without realizing we can sometimes overdo it and disrupt the skins natural moisture barrier with these stronger acids. I like the slow and steady approach and find this serum does a good job at exfoliating a little bit yet it never made my skin irritated or sensitized. I was able to use this daily and never had to worry about overdoing the acids. I really liked that about this serum. Plus it's hydrating, absorbs quickly due to the super light texture and it smells fantastic (I adore neroli). Neroli helps balance oil on the skin, minimize the appearance of pores and it gives an overall rejuvenated look to the skin. This was a serum that grew on me over time. At first I didn't love it but now I actually really do quite like it.
Ingredients
aqua, citrus aurantium amara (neroli) flower water, citrus limonum (lemon) fruit water, glycerin, sucrose, benzyl alcohol, ascorbyl glucoside, citric acid, sodium hyaluronate, dehydroacetic acid, xanthan gum, glycolic acid
I caved in this order and grabbed the Intense Night Oil which was my second retinol in oil experience. Details per Votary:
Votary Intense Night Oil combines powerful natural oils with retinoid, and works to smooth texture and tone to give you younger, plumper looking skin. Luxurious natural plant oils are blended with a unique oil-soluble form of Retinoid for powerful skin rejuvenation. As skin ages, we experience dehydration and a loss of elasticity, matched with an increase in fine lines, wrinkles and pigmentation. Intense Night Oil both encourages the skin’s natural turnover of cells and reduces the breakdown of collagen, meaning you wake up with firmer, smoother skin.
Intense Night Oil is packed full of nature’s most powerful ingredients. Delicately fragranced with rose oil, it contains avocado oil for vitamin K, tomato seed oil and rosehip oil for lycopene, and pro-vitamin A for antioxidants. Acmella flower extract is proven to improve dermal structure and results in firmer feeling skin, while Australian sandalwood extract is a natural source of ximenyic acid to reduce redness and fine lines. These luxurious natural ingredients work with the retinoid to nurture, nourish and restore the skin.
The Ritual Put four to five drops onto your palms. Hold your palms to your face and take a moment to inhale the natural fragrance and let it settle your mind. Now smooth the oil onto your face and neckline using gentle upward motions. Use your fingertips to gently pat the oil into the area around your eyes. Be gentle with your skin – don’t pull or stretch – so that it retains its elasticity. Allow a moment for absorption, and now your skin is perfectly prepped for sleep.
This oil has a luxe look with a black glass bottle and rose gold metallic lettering. The texture is a medium weight. It's rich but not heavy or greasy. I like this as a night oil in the cooler months. Now that's it's cooling down I'll be pulling this out again. This oil has grape seed (antioxidant, lightweight), apricot kernel (richer in texture, rich in oleic & linoleic acids plus vitamins A, C, E & K, anti-inflammatory), avocado (richer in texture, rich in oleic acid, vitamin E and chlorophyll), sunflower (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory), rosehip (antioxidant, high in vitamin C, regenerating), tomato seed (antioxidant, rich in lycopenes, sterols, lutein, beta-carotene and vitamin E) oils. Paracress flower extract is another natural alternative to botox plant. It reduces muscle tension, reducing facial wrinkles caused by tense or contracted facial muscles. So it's like a natural muscle relaxer. Calendula flower is calming and soothing. This is lightly scented from the rosa damascena flower oil. It's not strong but it is an essential oil if you avoid those. It also has astringent, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
This is a retinol in oil. The retinol used is hydroxypinacolone retinoate. This is a newer member to the retinol family. It's a retinoic acid ester so it's related to retinoic acid. The beauty of this version is that it does not have to be converted by the body to retinoic acid. It simply binds with the retinoid receptors of the cells to do its thing. As it doesn't need conversion by the body it's supposed to be less irritating. This is the same retinoid used in Sunday Riley Luna, The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid & Zelens Power A. I actually really love this type of retinol. I find it completely non-irritating, I can use it daily and it gives fabulous results. I really like the new types of retinol as I never liked prescription strength. I get really good results from daily use of these over the counter types with non of the irritation. I feel like the retinol in oil varieties are much gentler on my skin than even serum versions. They're perfect for winter or times when you still want retinol but don't want to irritate your winter stressed out skin.
I love the combination of lighter oils with a few richer ones like avocado & apricot. The antioxidant benefits of tomato oil is phenomenal and it's easily one of my favorite ingredients of the moment. I love that they also threw in the natural muscle relaxing flower paracress. It's a well rounded oil with a ton of skin benefits. This retinol oil is a favorite for colder nights and definitely in my top three retinol in oil picks of all time.
Ingredients
vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil, persea gratissima (avocado) oil, helianthus annuus seed oil, rosa canina (rosehip) fruit oil, fusanus spicatus kernel oil, solanum lycopersicum (tomato) seed oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride tocopherol, hydroxypinacolone retinoate, spilanthes acmella (paracress) flower extract, calendula officinalis (calendula) flower extract, dimethyl isosorbide, dalbergia spp, rosa damascena (rose) flower oil, linalool+, citronellol+, geraniol+, benzyl benzoate+,
+naturally occurs in essential oils
